CIRCLE ART GALLERY

ATLANTICO: ANGOLA AND SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE CONTEMPORARY | 22 Jan - 21 Feb 2020 

Featuring:

Babu | Uólofe Griot | Ricardo Kapuka | António Ole | Kapelo Paulo | Daniela Ribiero | Kwame Sousa | Joana Taya | Nelo Teixeira | Van | Franciso Vidal | Zbi

Even though the 27-year-long civil war in Angola ended in 2002, society has remained forever changed by the conflict. Despite moments of hope with strong presences in the Johanesburg Biennial in 1995, the Havana Biennial in 1997, and the Venice Biennials in 2013, 2015 and 2017, (even winning the Golden Lion in 2013), Angolan art and culture has been largely unexplored historically and remains fairly misinterpreted to this day, not only in the West but also in Africa. Within the continent this may be because of the Anglo, Franco and Lusophone language divide and also the lack of collaborations between art institutions in the 54 countries.

This invitational at Circle Art is a good example of the immense need and potential to bridge that divide within the continent, to create dialogue between East and West African artists, publics, academics and critics, whilst intensifying the ´South-South´ narrative. Circle´s first exhibition for 2020 is a group show featuring 11 artists from Angola and 1 from São Tomé & Príncipe; a combination of established masters and emerging artists living in Angola and the diaspora. The term ATLANTICO is purposefully chosen to show a cross-section of artists whose inspiration (even if they live in the diaspora) is Angola and São Tomé & Príncipe.

ATLANTICO presents a cross-section of the varied practices developing in contemporary art from this geographical region of Atlantic Africa. All the works embrace fiction and non-fiction; incorporating personal, political, economic, cultural and mythological themes. Never has the Atlantic Ocean been so important to encourage new questions and debates so that the many threads of the Atlantic coast of Africa - which through slavery have established a bridge between Angola, as part of the Congo and São Tomé and Príncipe on one side and Brazil and the USA on the other. This exhibition helps us to compare and contrast the realities of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

BABU (ANGOLA)

Hamilton Francisco or Babu (born 1974) moved to Portugal in the 1990s where he continued to study and research various painting techniques, reworking an ontology of Africans living in the diaspora, redefining his notions of memory and identity and reorganizing them as a person who has lived for a long time far away from his home, Angola. His work often highlights the contradictions between the colonizer and the colonized, Babu works with paper, canvas and coffee sacks to discuss the fragility of being Angolan. His works have been shown around the world extensively.

UÓLOFE GRIOT (ANGOLA)

Simão André Sebastião or Uólofe Griot (born 1989) is a design-illustrator, an artist and a ´doodler´, currently finishing his studies at the ´Instituto Superior de Artes´ (ISART). Griot is inspired by his personal and family archives, he explores in his art, the rights and rituals of a young man growing up within contemporary Angolan society. His works are multi-layered, revealing the depth of his thought and narrative, and have been exhibited to great acclaim in Angola, Nigeria, South Africa, Portugal, Spain and France.

RICARDO KAPUKA (ANGOLA)

Ricardo Kapuka (born 1976) is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who draws freehand, cuts stencils, sprays and paints, and also develops video installations frame-by-frame in an urban art language. His works reflect feelings of pain and joy and blend insightful traces of social and political critique on canvas and African cloths. He portrays the Angolan vernacular, which reflects the essence of culture and habits in Angola and looks at memory and identity. His works have been exhibited and collected in Angola, Portugal, South Africa and France.

ANTÓNIO OLE (ANGOLA)

António Ole, (born 1951) is an artist whose work ranges from sculpture to installations, from painting and collage to drawing, and from photography to film. Ole's first international exhibition was in 1984 at the Los Angeles Museum of African American Art. He participated in the International Exhibition of Seville in 1992, at the Johannesburg Biennial in 1995 and at the Havana Biennial in 1997. His photographs were displayed at the 2015 Venice Biennale and several films were shown at the following Biennale in 2017. Ole recently celebrated a 50 career as an artist and is considered a Master in Angola.

KAPELA PAULO (ANGOLA)

Kapela Paulo (born 1947) is a self-taught artist who lived the first part of his life between Angola and the Congo, working and learning from modern artists in Kinshasa and in Brazzaville, where he followed the ´Poto-Poto School´ an art school set up in 1951. He has experimented beyond traditional painting, such as collage, writing, stencils, and recycled materials, and uses stereotypes and the deconstruction of political icons in order to re-construct history and open up new perspectives on life in contemporary Angola, which has brought him worldwide recognition. With over a 50 year career in art, he is considered a Master.

DANIELA RIBEIRO (ANGOLA)

Daniela Ribeiro (born 1972) is an acclaimed artist whose first solo exhibition was in 2002 in Portugal. In 2009, Daniela exhibited for the first time in Angola, and has continued to show there regularly. Characterised by African (Tchokwe) tribal masks adorned with jewels made from pieces of mobile phones, screens, chips, keyboards, earphones and wires, Daniela´s work is a unique combination of tradition and modernity. Her work has been widely exhibited in Portugal as well as the UK, Spain and Angola.

KWAME SOUSA (SAÕ TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE)

Kwame Sousa (born 1980) is a truly multidisciplinary artist who explores a wide range of media, techniques and styles. Having held exhibitions at several galleries around the world and participated in the “Luanda Triennale”, “Bamako Film and Art Festival” and various editions of São Tomé and Príncipe’ “Biennale”, Kwame belongs to the third generation of artists from his country. He is considered one of two of the most influential contemporary visual artists in the international scene representing these islands. His goal is to contribute to the strong development of the visual arts in São Tomé and Príncipe.

JOANA TAYA (ANGOLA)

Joana Taya (born 1977) is a professional designer and self-taught artist, particularly concerned with highlighting the inner-beauty and positive side of every human being. She explores concepts around human interaction and each individual´s common essence, independent of geographical or historical contexts. She works with a variety of materials and techniques, including painting, collages, graphic and digital art, video, photography and also embroidery. Since 2003, she has exhibited extensively, both solo and group shows in Angola, Germany, China, UK, Czech Republic, Norway, France and Portugal.

NELO TEIXEIRA (ANGOLA)

Nelo Teixeira (born 1975) is a self-taught artist, carpenter and set designer. Nelo works in painting, collages, installation and explores mixed techniques like fabric, wood and found objects. He uses recycled material in reference to the culture and tradition of his country but is also aware of the new cultural "rhythms" and new voices in society. He has appeared regularly since 2000 in solo and group shows in Angola, Portugal, France, Italy and South Africa and has represented Angola at the 2015 Venice Biennial.

VAN (ANGOLA)

Francisco Domingos Van-Dúnem or Van (born 1959) is an artist, cultural promotor, university professor and researcher. Van´s work goes from drawing to assembling collages, painting canvas and creating ´readymades´, projecting the ‘Africaness’ of his conciousness, suggesting a singular artistic essence. Since 1984, Van has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in Angola, Cuba, Portugal, France, South Africa and Brazil. Van recently celebrated more than 40 years as an artist and is considered a Master in Angola.

FRANCISCO VIDAL (ANGOLA)

Francisco Vidal (born 1978) is an academic artist and is best known for his paintings and drawings which bring together bold colour and pattern on handmade paper, canvas or even machetes, often tiled together to create installations. Vidal’s work playfully blends various aesthetic influences, including Cubism, African wax-print textiles and 1980s hip-hop culture, as well as contemporary graffiti and street art. He has exhibited at the 2015 Venice Biennale, the 2015 Expo Milano, the 2017 Afropolitan Festival at Bozar in Brussels, Belgium and in the 2018 Sino-Lusophone Cultural and Arts Festival.

ZBI (ANGOLA)

Isaac Pinto de Andrade or Zbi (born 1989) is a multimedia artist who paints, makes collages, creates urban art / graffiti and performs with spray paint. He is inspired both by Angolan urban life and by the different forms of social organization found in the rural areas of Angola. Zbi produces very original, diversely colourful and high intensity artworks. He is one of the most exciting young artists to have emerged on the national art scene in the last three years and his work is becoming quite sort after. He has exhibited in a number of social and cultural live-events and spaces around Angola.